China is planning to create the world's biggest mega city by merging nine cities to create a metropolis twice the size of Wales with a population of 42 million.

A lawyer acting on behalf of Macau gambling magnate Stanley Ho on Thursday said he had filed a court claim against his children to recover his assets, adding a new twist to the ongoing feud over the casino empire.

China got the technology for its first stealth fighter jet from Russia, a senior US lawmaker said Tuesday, one week after the airplane apparently made its maiden flight.

The White House is to throw a lavish reception for the Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, on Wednesday in an effort to patch up relations after a difficult year dominated by tensions over currency rates, jobs, North Korea and other international issues.

Chinese President Hu Jintao emphasized the need for cooperation with the U.S. in areas from new energy to space ahead of his visit to Washington this week, but he called the present U.S. dollar-dominated currency system a "product of the past" and highlighted moves to turn the yuan into a global currency.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged the Hong Kong-based Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC) to increase support for the local government and further contribute to regional economic development.

State-owned Bank of China Ltd has opened trading in the yuan currency to U.S. customers, according to a posting on the bank's website dated December 2010.

China's defense minister on Monday rebuffed an offer from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to hold strategic nuclear talks, saying military dialogue will be limited to counterpiracy, counterterrorism and peacekeeping cooperation.

In the 19th century, laborers from China helped build railroads spanning California and linking the U.S. coasts. In the 21st century, the Chinese may be back -- not for backbreaking labor, but with financial and technological muscle.

AT&T (T.N) has increased the number of clients it has in the Greater China region by about 50 percent in the past year, a senior executive said on Thursday, and is now looking to target privately run Chinese companies.

Advances in Chinese military technology, including a new anti-ship ballistic missile and possibly a radar-evading fighter plane, are drawing scrutiny from Pentagon officials days before Defense Secretary Robert Gates is due to meet with his counterpart in Beijing.

China is confident Spain will recover from its economic crisis and Beijing will buy Spanish public debt despite market fears of an Irish-style bailout, a top Chinese official said Monday.

Residents in Beijing, the city ranked as having the world’s worst traffic, rushed to apply for new vehicle licenses under a quota system started Jan. 1 as China’s government seeks to ease the congestion.